Carrying container



P 6, 1967 A. HAMILTON, JR., ETAL 3,343,743

CARRYING CONTAINER Filed Sept. 12, 1966 22 INVENTORS ALEXANDER mmuomcm. AND gIARLES o. HAM\LTON gw ww.

ATTORNEY-5 United States Patent f 3,343,743 CARRYING CONTAINER Alexander Hamilton, In, and Charles 1). Hamilton, St.

Joseph, Mo., assignors to St. Joseph Paper Box Company, St. Joseph, Mo., a corporation of Missouri Filed Sept. 12, 1966, Ser. No. 578,567 1 Claim. (Cl. 229-21) ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A carton made from a single piece of semi-rigid material has bulging side walls and concave end walls made from overlapping end panels formed on concave fold lines. A lower flap adjacent a bottom fold line closes the bottom of the container and an upper fold line between the side walls forms the upper edge of the carton. A flexible elongated handle is anchored along the upper edge of the carton by extending through openings along the upper fold line and is anchored within the carton between the side panels at the carton upper edge.

This invention relates to a container or box, particularly designed for packaging and carrying small articles of wearing apparel or similar articles of merchandise.

The principal object of the present invention is to provide an improved carton for carrying small articles of clothing, particularly womens wearing apparel or other small objects so that the merchandise can be easily carried from place to place in an attractive package.

Other objects of the present invention are to provide a carton or package made from a single piece of cardboard, paper or other relatively semi-rigid material which may be easily and quickly knocked down for shipment in flat form and readily converted into a carton for housing and carrying of articles of merchandise by the purchaser thereof in stores; to provide a carton of this character having outwardly bowed main side walls and inwardly bowed end walls forming a container or box structure by which a buyer is attracted by the aesthetic appeal of the carton or receptacle in which the material is contained; to provide a carton of this character wherein the ends may be closed and are self-locked when closed due to the overlapping flaps resulting from the shape of the fiaps and the rigidity of the carton material; to provide a carton of this character wherein the end members overlap each other and are inwardly bowed from one side edge of the body of the container to the other longitudinally thereof.

Still further objects of the present invention are to provide a container from a single sheet of material having a main fold line and a fold line spaced from one edge of the sheet forming a flap portion having adhesive thereon and adapted to fold over the free edge of the opposite edge of the side member and be sealed thereto to form the side walls of the container; to provide inwardly curved fold lines on the respective ends of each of the side walls, and flaps extending outwardly therefrom having convex outer edges, which when folded inwardly of the side walls of the container, one of the convex edges will lie against the inside wall of the opposite side of the container to retain the container in a package or opened position in order to receive the articles to be housed therein; to provide one side edge of the carton with a handle for carrying the merchandise in the carton; and to provide a device of this character simple and economical to manufacture.

Other objects and advantages of this invention will become apparent from the following description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings wherein are set forth by way of illustration and example certain embodiments of this invention.

3,343,743 Patented Sept. 26, 1967 FIG. 1 is a perspective view of our invention showing the handle thereof and the container in closed position.

FIG. 2 is a plan view of the container before the sides are spread apart and before the end flaps are in end closing position.

FIG. 3 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view through the container looking toward the handle portion.

FIG. 4 is a plan view of the single sheet of cardboard material shown before folding.

FIG. 5 is an end view of the carton as shown in FIG. 1.

Referring more in detail to the drawings:

1 designates a container embodying the features of our invention consisting of a single sheet 2 of relatively stilf or semi-rigid cardboard material having a main longitudinal fold line 3 near the transverse center thereof and a fold line 4 spaced from one edge of the sheet 2 leaving a flap portion 5 provided with an adhesive 6. The side walls are formed by bending of the paper 2 on the fold line 3 and the flap 5 is folded over the side edge 7 of the cardboard and adhesively secured to the outside thereof by the adhesive 6. When in this form, the container lies in flat condition, as shown in FIG. 2, and in which position 8 designates the top edge and 9 the bottom edge of the carton and having side walls 10 and 11.

Each of the walls 10 and 11 of the container have relatively flat, arc-uate or outwardly bowed convex edges 12-13 and 14-15. The side walls 10 and 11 have fold or score lines 16-17 and 18-19 of substantially the same radius as the outwardly bowed edges 12-13 and 14-15 as plainly illustrated in FIG. 4. It is obvious, therefore, that the ends of each of the side Walls of the container become end wall panels 20-21 and 22-23 and are somewhat ovalshaped so that when the cardboard is folded into the carton as illustrated in FIG. 1, the carton is also oval-shaped looking from the end thereof, as particularly illustrated in FIG. 5. The side walls 10 and 11 are spaced from each other to house the merchandise therein for carrying the same.

The side walls of the cardboard container are generally fastened together at the factory by folding of the cardboard on the fold line 3 and folding the flap 5 over the edge 7 of the opposite side of the cardboard and sealing the flap thereto by the adhesive 6. The carton thus so far formed is still in a flat condition as shown in FIG. 2 and may be shipped to the merchandiser in such position, such as a department store or the like. When the salesman or saleslady makes a sale to a customer of a small item such as ladies wear, blouses, underthings and other small items, the salesman or saleslady will then complete the container by spreading the side walls 10 and 11 apart through the open end 19 thereof to an oval-like position of the elliptical portion 20 and 22 and the flap portion 22 is folded on the fold line 16 and the outer edge 14 thereof will engage against the inner wall 24 of the side wall 10 to hold the ends of the side walls in spaced relation. The flap 20 is then folded over the outside of the flap 22 to close one end of the container. After the articles are placed through the open end 24' of the container, then the flap portion 23 is folded on the line 17 so that the outer edge 15 will lie against the inside 26 of the wall 10 to retain the end of the walls spaced from each other and the flap 21 folded on the line 19 to overlie the end 23 to complete the container.

It will be obvious the flap 20 may be turned in and form the inner wall of the end 19'. The same is true of the flap 21, or flaps 21 and 22 may form the inner walls. It makes no dilference which end flaps form the inner walls.

We also provide a handle 27 for the container which may be of a resilient material such as cord or the like and the ends thereof are furnished with keeper members 28 which may be turned to lie fiat along the ends of the cord and the keeper members inserted through the openings 29, and when inserted therethrough, outward pull on the cord will cause the elongated keeper members to engage the inner wall of the edge 8 and retain the handle therein.

It will be obvious from the foregoing that we have provided an extremely simple, knocked-down container for housing small articles of merchandise and which container may be open to merchandise-carrying position with a minimum of effort and time and which when open to such position is substantially strong to retain the merchandise in safe condition while being carried by the purchaser.

It is to be understood that while we have illustrated and described one form of our invention, it is not to be limited to the specific form or arrangement of parts herein described and shown except insofar as such limitations are included in the claims.

What we claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

A carton suitable for receiving blouses and similar wearing apparel, said carton having upper and lower edges and side walls and end walls, said carton having a handle and being made from a single piece of semi-rigid material having first and second side panels and an end flap comprising,

(a) a first fold line between said end flap and said first side panel, said fu'st fold line forming said carton lower edge, said end flap being provided with an adhesive material and secured to said second side panel adjacent said lower edge making said carton three layers thick at said lower edge, a second fold line between said first and second side panels and parallel to said first fold line, said second fold line forming said carton upper edge and making said carton two layers thick at said upper edge,

(b) said end walls each being characterized by a pair of overlapping end panels constituting integral extended portions of said side panels and connected thereto by arcuate fold lines, one of said end panels in each of said pairs being adapted to be folded inwardly and having its outer arcuate edge engaging against the inside surface of the opposite side wall and the other end panel of each pair overlying the last mentioned end panels whereby said end walls, when formed, assume concave shaped end members for said carton,

(c) a pair of spaced-apart openings through said material on said second fold line and intermediate said end walls, an elongated flexible member forming a handle loop externally of said carton and having opposite end portions received through said openings, and keeper means associated with each of said end portions and preventing said end portions from pulling out of said openings, said end portions adding to the thickness of said carton adjacent said upper edge.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,964,227 12/ 1-960 Goldshall 229-21 2,966,293 12/1960 Goldshall 229-8 X 3,010,571 11/1961 Transport. 3,126,145 3/1964 Struble 2298 X FOREIGN PATENTS 768,763 2/ 1 957 Great Britain.

884,121 12/ 1961 Great Britain.

364,220 10/ 1962 Switzerland.

JOSEPH R. LECLAIR, Primary Examiner.

DAVIS T. MOORHEAD, Examiner. 

